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Henry Gibson
|birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |died = |death_place = Malibu, Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |gender = Male |height = 5'7" |series = Boston Legal |character = Judge Clark Brown }} Henry Gibson (born September 21, 1935-died September 14, 2009) appeared in a recurring role as Judge Clark Brown on Boston Legal. A veteran character actor, voice actor, poet, and song writer, Henry may be best remembered for his appearances as a poet on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In during the 1960s, and his roles in the film Wedding Crashers. Career Henry's contributions to animation during a long career in stage, radio, television, and motion pictures from age 7 include voice work on Aaaah! Real Monsters, and several performances as Merv Stimpleton in Rocket Power episodes as well as the Dream Scheme video game. Gibson spent three years as part of the Laugh-In television show's cast, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1971. He often played "The Poet," reciting poems with "sharp satirical or political themes".Henry Gibson (I) — Biography Gibson would emerge from behind a stage flat, wearing a Nehru jacket and "hippie" beads and holding an outlandishly large artificial flower. He would state the "of poem — by Henry Gibson", bow stiffly from the waist, recite his poem and return behind the flat. Gibson's routine was so memorable that John Wayne actually performed it once in his own inimitable style: "The Sky — by John Wayne. The Sky is blue/The Grass is green/Get off your butt/And join the Marines!", whereupon Wayne left the scene by smashing through the flat. Gibson also regularly appeared in the "Cocktail Party" segments as a Catholic priest, sipping tea. He would put the cup on the saucer, recite his one-liner in a grave and somber tone, then go back to sipping tea. He also made recurring appearances in the 1969-1974 anthology Love, American Style. In 1980, Henry appeared on CBS-TV's The Dukes Of Hazzard, as Will Jason (Squirt), in the second season episode Find Loretta Lynn. Also in 1980 he played the leader of the 'Illinois Nazis' in the John Landis film The Blues Brothers. Most younger audiences associate him with this film in particular due to its popularity. He made a brief appearance in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia as an eccentric barfly. He also worked frequently as a voice actor in animation, most notably portraying Wilbur the pig in the popular Hanna Barbera children's movie Charlotte's Web (1973) and later worked for them in the cartoon The Biskitts. He also worked on the cartoon The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy as Lord Pain, King of the Hill as reporter Bob Jenkins, and Rocket Power as grouchy neighbor Merv Stimpleton. In the 1989 Joe Dante comedy Yhe 'Burbd, starring Tom Hanks, Gibson played the villain. Gibson reunited with director Dante a few years later when Gremlins 2 was released in 1990. He performed a cameo as the office worker who is caught taking a smoking break on camera and fired by the sadistic boss. Guest-starring in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he played the Ferengi "Nilva" in the 1998 episode, "Profit and Lace" Personal life On April 6, 1966, he married Lois Joan Geiger, who was five years his senior. The couple had three sons: Jonathan David Gibson, an executive at Universal Pictures; Charles Alexander Gibson, a director and visual effects supervisor; and James Gibson, a screenwriter. She died on May 6, 2007, aged 77. Death Henry died of cancer at home a week short of what would have been his 74th birthday in 2009. Like the Merv character he voiced, Gibson had served in the US military during the 1950s, was a man of many talents, and lived near the sea. References External Links * Henry Gibson at Wikipedia * Henry Gibson at Find a Grave memorial * Henry Gibson at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Category:Actors Category:Guest stars